Key move at Cannock's £4m new fire base

The first bricks of a £4.6 million new fire station in Cannock will be laid this week as construction work begins the home stretch.

Staffordshire's Chief Fire Officer, Peter Dartford, will be donning a high visibility jacket and helmet to lay the first block during a ceremony on Wednesday. The new base, which will have numerous community facilities, will be completed later this year and opened in January. Only then will the 1962 fire station on the same site in Old Hednesford Road be demolished.

Firefighters currently operate out of the station during the day and respond from home on overnight duty.

From September, the crewing levels will be increased and firefighters will be based there around the clock.

Mr Dartford said: "The station is really starting to take shape now. No longer is this new community fire station just a vision - we can now see it becoming a reality.

"This new station will be far from a 'traditional' fire station. Instead of just being an emergency response base, we look forward to it becoming a central hub of community activity."

The project manager for construcion company Stepnell, Niraj Bhatt, said: "A lot of time has been spent preparing the grounds of Cannock site ready for construction of the new fire station.

"The recent erection of the steel frame marked a key milestone in our programme and will allow the shape and size of the station to be appreciated.

"Over the coming months the exterior of the building will quickly take shape and we hope the community's anticipation will increase as we get ever closer to the unveiling of the new station."